Gallo Cedrone con Fegato (Roast Grouse with Liver Crostino)

Grouse is my favourite game bird. The addition of Chianti ‘Italianates’ the classic British way of cooking grouse. Twenty minutes of roasting will give you a grouse that is on the rare side; 25 minutes will give you medium – that is, the legs cooked, lightly pink near the breast. A blue grouse will take no more than a total of 15 minutes to roast.

Serves 2

2 grouse, wiped clean, with their livers and hearts intact inside, if possible

2 sprigs of sage

2 sprigs of thyme

70g unsalted butter

150ml Italian brandy

1 bottle of Chianti Classico Reserva

2 slices of sourdough bread

1 garlic clove, peeled

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200°C (conventional oven 220°C/Gas Mark 6). Season the cavity of each grouse with salt and pepper. Put half the herbs inside each grouse with a knob of the butter. Wipe the birds all over with the brandy and season the skin with sea salt.

Heat 30g of the butter in an ovenproof pan or flameproof casserole that will hold the birds snugly. When the butter is hot, add the grouse and lightly brown on all sides, finishing with them breast side up. Add 15g butter to the pan, then transfer to the oven to roast for 10 minutes.

Add a glass of the Chianti and roast for a further 10 minutes (or longer if you want the grouse cooked medium). Remove the grouse from the pan and place them in a warm bowl. Spoon out the livers and hearts, if they are there, and chop them.

Add the rest of the brandy, another 15g butter and another glass of wine to the pan juices. Over a high heat, boil for about 5 minutes until reduced to a thick, glossy sauce.

Grill or toast the bread on each side. Rub one side only with the garlic clove. Dip the garlicky side of each crostino into the sauce and place this side up on heated plates. Spread the chopped livers and hearts over the crostino.

Add the juices from the bowl the grouse have been resting in to the sauce, then set a bird on top of each crostino. Pour over the remaining sauce. Serve with watercress or rocket dressed with olive oil and lemon juice, and drink the rest of the Chianti.

Gallo Cedrone con Fegato (Roast Grouse with Liver Crostino)